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"Naturals at the Supernatural"
by Vanessa Neupmann

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When Lorraine was a little girl, she used to see lights around the nuns at the Laurelton Hall private school in Trumbull. She did not know what to make of it, but she knew better than to tell someone about it. When she was a teenager, she met a boy named Ed at a local movie theater while out with her friends. That summer night, when Ed walked her home, she wrote in her diary that she had met the man she would spend the rest of her life with.

Ed Warren was born in Bridgeport, and from age 5 through 12 lived in a haunted house. His parents would try to give logical explanations for the noises and strange occurrences that happened around the house, but Ed would never stay alone in that house, and if necessary, would stay outside until someone came home. The phenomena Ed experienced made him very interested and curious about the paranormal.

When Ed was 17 he listed in the military, and at 22 he married his long-time sweetheart, Lorraine. After the war, Ed attended art school, and would make his living painting haunted houses around the New England area. When speaking about their work, Lorraine claims that she and Ed started doing this research to appease his curiosity of the home he grew up in as a child. "My husband grew up in a house that was haunted," Lorraine stated, "and we started doing this research strictly to satisfy his curiosity." In 1969, Ed painted his impressions of the most haunted areas. "Our education was art," says Lorraine. "Stepney, (a village within Monroe) had an art exhibit every year, and we were asked to be involved with the event, and would donate paintings."

Despite her psychic gift, Lorraine was never too involved with the paranormal phenomena until a visit to the "Ocean Born Mary House" in Henniker, New Hampshire, (a very famous haunting in New England) where she had her first psychic experience by astrally projecting out of her body and hovering around. Lorraine, who carries a striking resemblance to Katherine Hepburn, is clairvoyant; a person who can see, smell and feel things; that is, she has a more- developed sixth sense than the rest of us. From then on, Lorraine's psychic abilities have increased and in the 1970's she was tested by Dr. Thelma Moss, a former UCLA psychologist and head of the Parapsychological Research and Neuropsychiatric Institute.

Ed Warren is recognized by the Catholic Church as a qualified demonologist, which has helped in the cases involving exorcism. "These kids today call themselves demonologists - that makes me scared," says Lorraine. When speaking of their investigative work, Lorraine says, "It started because we were respected people for who we were; that had a lot of bearing on it, and we were asked to share our knowledge. That’s why we gain it - we gain knowledge to use it." Ed and Lorraine have been conducting seminars and speaking publicly in colleges and universities in countries around the world.

Over the past fifty years, the Warrens have become notorious for their cases, the most famous being the "Amityville Horror." They have investigated over 5,000 cases about ghosts, witches, werewolves, and vampires. Two movies were made about their investigations, "The Haunted" and "The Devil in Connecticut." They have several books published about their investigations and they have participated in such shows as 20/20, Geraldo Rivera, Sally Jesse Raphael and even a MTV show called "Fear." The MTV show takes a group of people to an allegedly haunted location for two nights. The group must stay there and complete tasks to win a money prize. The Warrens participated in the episode where a group was sent to the former mental hospital, Fairfield Hills, in Newtown, known to be haunted by former patients who were tortured there.

The Warrens live in one of the most haunted homes in Connecticut, possibly due to the fact that they have a museum of the occult in their own basement. Some of the artifacts collected throughout the years include masks, voodoo dolls, books, and a raggedy Ann Doll called Annabelle, locked away in a glass cabinet. According to the Warrens, an evil spirit inhabits the doll, who is allegedly responsible for the death of a man. The museum is open to the public by appointment only. There are signs everywhere, advising people not to touch anything, since the person can absorb the object's energy.

Ed and Lorraine also have collected hundreds of ghostly pictures, taken by them or by people working with them. Ed was also able to record a video of the "Lady in White" - a famous haunting of the Union Cemetery in Easton. After numerous sleepless nights waiting for her to appear, Ed was able to capture her on tape. The ghost is earthbound; it hasn't passed on to the other side. They also have investigated Dudleytown, a ghost town located in Cornwall. Dudleytown has been the subject of various books, due to its history of being a cursed town.

Sadly, on March 26, 2002, Ed collapsed and has been at home ever since, in the loving care of his wife. "We made our living as artists," says Lorraine, and speaking of her ill-stricken husband, "he's a phenomenal artist. Where we're at in our life right now - I have to continue," referring to current investigations. "I am trying to do as much of my work as possible to honor my husband. I feel if I just dropped everything, that wouldn't please him. I worked by his side for 60 years - I can't take his place, I don't have that knowledge," says Lorraine. "We have definitely been guided in our work."

On the web: The Warrens

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